As its Finnish name (Lapland forget-me-not) suggests, Myosotis decumbens only grows in Northern Finland, but it can escape the gaze of even studious visitors to the area. The majority of tourist and reindeer paths traverse dry moors: M. decumbens’ favoured habitat includes leafy mountain birch woodland, stream banks and springs. These places are often impassable – wet, tangled thickets – and as such they have nothing to tempt the average hiker. The naturalist who is interested in plants would however be well advised to take a detour off the beaten track in promising looking spots because this northern forget-me-not is one of the most impressive species of our native forget-me-nots.

Wood forget-me-not (M. sylvatica), which is familiar from gardens in Southern Finland and nowadays also for growing rampantly in many natural habitats, is similar to M. decumbens, but usually has an even bigger flower. Additionally, its calyx is lobed virtually to its base, and the hooked hairs at the calyx base are shorter. The finding place already gives a good clue in defining the species: wood forget-me-not doesn’t grow inside the Arctic Circle.